William Edward Evans (8 June 1801 – 21 November 1869) was an English divine and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Life

Evans was born on 8 June 1801 in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. He inherited a taste for poetry and natural history from his father, John Evans M.D., a physician there and author of a poem in four books on bees (1806–13). His mother was Jane Wilson. A brother, Robert Wilson Evans, became the

Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness The Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Carlisle. As such he or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within its four rural deaneries: Barrow, Windermere, K ...

. From

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

, then run by Samuel Butler, Evans gained a scholarship at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It was est ...

, where he proceeded to the degree of B.A. in 1823 and M.A. in 1826. After taking holy orders, Evans became curate of

Llanymynech Llanymynech is a village and former civil parish straddling the Wales-England border, border between Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh language, Welsh for "Llan (placename), L ...

, Shropshire, until his marriage to a cousin, Elizabeth Evans, when he was presented to the living of Criggion,

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. This, however, he resigned to live at Burton Court,

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

, which his wife had inherited, and to hold the sole charge of the parish of Monkland. In 1841 he was appointed

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

and

praelector A praelector is a traditional role at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The role differs somewhat between the two ancient universities. University of Cambridge At Cambridge, a praelector is the fellow of a college who forma ...

of the cathedral. After holding Monkland for eighteen years, in 1850, Evans accepted the living of

Madley Madley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. It is located six miles west of the city of Hereford. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,200. Other settlements The parish includes the ham ...

with Tibberton,

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. In 1861 he became

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

. His health failed for the last two or three years of his life, and he died in the Close, Hereford on 21 November 1869, aged 68.

Works

Evans was an effective preacher, a careful student of animals, especially birds, and an angler. His major work was ''The Song of the Birds; or Analogies of Animal and Spiritual Life,'' 1845, drawing lessons from birds' habits. There are 22 chapters on England's main songbirds. He wrote also ''Sermons on Genesis'', ''Family Prayers'', ''First Revelations of God to Man'' (Sermons), and a ''Letter to the Bishop on Diocesan Education'', 1850 (to

Renn Hampden Renn Dickson Hampden (29 March 1793 – 23 April 1868) was an English Anglican clergyman. His liberal tendencies led to conflict with traditionalist clergy in general and the supporters of Tractarianism during the years he taught at the Unive ...

), with some sermons.

Family

Evans left one daughter, and three sons, one of whom became the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Holmer Holmer or Holmér is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Gösta Holmér (1891–1983), Swedish decathlete *Grethe Holmer (1924–2004), Danish actress *Hans Holmér (1930–2002), Chief of the Swedish National Security Service, Sto ...

, Herefordshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, William Edward 1801 births 1869 deaths English naturalists 19th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Shrewsbury School Clergy from Shrewsbury Scientists from Shrewsbury